MRS. BUSH: Well, Darell is the real example for us. He's the one
who heard a story, the way I understand it, Darell, about two little
kids who hurt themselves badly because they just had an old car to play
in. And so he got this idea to build playgrounds all over the country.
And isn't it a wonderful idea? (Applause.)

He's just a great example, and just another example of an American
who thought of some way that he could help communities everywhere, and
he stepped up and did it. And so now he's got a special project for the
Gulf Coast, with a goal of building 100 playgrounds here, from New
Orleans all the way over to Mobile. And that's so terrific. Thank you
very much for that. (Applause.)

Play is really important for children, and it's one thing that will
bring people back to their communities is if they know there's a good
school for their children to go to and there are safe places for them to
play.

We visited two schools, Secretary Spellings, the Secretary of
Education, and I did earlier, one in Algiers in New Orleans, and then
one in St. Bernard's Parish. The one in St. Bernard's Parish is the
only school that's open there yet. It has all of the kids who have come
back, Kindergarten through 12. And they go to school on the second
floor; the first floor is still being redone, the part of it that had
flooded.

But it's really very important to make sure all the communities
across the Gulf Coast can get their schools back up and going, to have a
good place for children to go to school, to have places, safe places for
children to play. And then that will bring parents back, if they know
their children can be safe.

Margaret and I were really inspired by the stories that we heard in
the New Orleans area, and we're especially inspired here in Mississippi
by what's going on here, all the different people that have come out to
volunteer, all the people that have been volunteering here for months
that aren't from Mississippi. A lot of the people from Hands On USA,
the Hands On Network, were part of them. (Applause.) The 4-H people
that are here, and, of course, our Seabees that are here, thank you all
very, very much for coming over.

And just in case you don't know, these are White House Fellows.
They're spending a year working at the White House. They have a
fellowship to work in the administration. One of them, actually, Steve
Parker, works in my office. He also happens to be a Major in the Army.
But he is the White House Fellow working specifically on the Helping
America's Youth initiative, with projects around the country, like
KaBOOM, that do things to help children grow up to be successful adults.
And so I want to thank you all very much, too, for coming down here to
volunteer. (Applause.)

Margaret and I feel very, very encouraged as we look around. I
know for everyone who lives here, who has lost their home on the Gulf
Coast, that it seems like a long time, it's discouraging, it seems slow.
But the fact is, there has been a lot of progress. And there's still so
much to do. But I want to encourage all Americans, especially high
school and college-age kids, to volunteer this year. Use your spring
break or your summer vacation, and come down and volunteer somewhere
here on the Gulf Coast. You can look at the USA Freedom Corps website
to get a lot of volunteer opportunities. You can come with your church
group. You can volunteer with any of these other organizations that are
already down here. I know there are people still cooking that have been
here since the hurricane, cooking for other people, and I want to
encourage people to continue to do that, and then come on down. It will
be a great way to spend your spring break or your summer vacation if
you're in high school or college.

Thank you all so much. It was so much fun to get to be here, to
see this terrific playground that's behind us. Thank you all for
volunteering and for making this happen in one day for the kids here in
this town in Mississippi. Thank you all and God bless you all. Thanks
so much. (Applause.)